Project: Silent Overkill

[Cenedd]

Having recently succumbed to the upgrade itch, I thought it was all over for a few years. Then I got involved in building a complete new build for a friend and started looking at all the shiny new cases. New toy syndrome took hold and some half-baked ideas were hatched. You guys know how these things are
So I've been chatting about it with OJ46 by polluting his excellent build log (see page 9) and he's either inspired me or led me astray - we'll see which as this progresses. Basically OJ, it's all your fault

So what's the plan and why? Well, I've got a relatively old case that's entirely unsuited to watercooling but has been bent to my will. It started off with eight Alphacool Cape Cora's mounted externally and then had an EK 3x120 rad mounted unceremoniously on the outside of the roof on stand-offs. Now with a 980Ti and a 4GHz Skylake it gets a bit hotter than I'd like when gaming and I'm too stubborn to ramp the fans up from relatively silent

I'm drawn to the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX. My local storage is all M.2 SSDs and any more is iSCSI so I don't need the entire front of the case lined with disk cages. I want a bit more space in the case and I want it clean and tidy. Currently I have lit stuff like the res, GPU and CPU blocks....but I have no window so it's kind of pointless.

I know this case only has room for a 3x120 and a 2x120 which isn't really an upgrade....but I reckon it'll have room to slap a Mo-Ra 420 on the side if I'm lucky

I don't really have any pictures of anything at this stage and I'm more of a suck-it-and-see style builder than a sketch-up artist so it's entirely possible that this whole thing could just fail horribly....but such is the way of things. OCUK will be getting an order for a case in a sec so I can start there. Once I have it I can assess (read make wild assumptions and hope it pans out) whether I can mount the rad on the off-side side panel (the one without the window) or even whether it's possible to mount the rad in place of the side panel without making a horrible mess of it.

So the to-do list is this:

1. Will it blend hang? The weight of the rad could just be too much.
2. Is it possible/better to mount the rad instead of the side panel?
3. Could some hybrid side-panel/rad door mash-up be made so that the rad is hinged onto the case but the front of the side panel is bolted on the front so the case looks right?
4. How to get QDCs installed so the side-panel/rad can be opened?
5. Should it be 9x140mm fans or a conversion plate to mount 4x230mm beasts and if so are they too thick to then mount a fan guard?
6. Would it be a crime not to take the opportunity to go hardline? OJ46 thinks so....so that's my easy life out the window!

Spec:

• Gigabyte GAZ170X-Gaming 7 Motherboard
• EK Monoblock
• Intel 6700K at stock but turbo turned up (currently at 4 x 4.4GHz).
• 2x8GB Team Group Xtreem DDR4 @ 3733MHz
• Inno3d Airboss x3 but stripped and blocked
• Pair of Samsung 950 Pro 256GB M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 with custom heatsinks.
• Aquaero 6 XT with redheatsink (black wasn't available at the time)
• Aquacomputer Flow Sensor
• Aqua Computer Aqualis XT 150ml with RGB LED fitted.
• Pump is a DDC with heatsink and XSPC top... but I think it may have to be uprated to a dual DDC with twin heatsinks!

These are pics of the current rig back and front. I'm not sure why it won't embed the smaller image but it is clickable to a full-size pic. If someone can tell me why it won't let me display the image I'll sort it out - it could just be referencing an http image on an https page.



Well, hope this is of some interest. It's rather wordy at the moment but I'll try to get it more picture-oriented once actual stuff starts to turn up! (and I work out how to get it embedded properly).

Gareth

 

[Cenedd]

Cheers. Already researching acrylic vs PETG - think I'm going with acrylic - and the tools necessary when they're in stock!

A computer attached to a radiator I can live with. The danger is that it will tip so it could end up as a computer on top of a radiator with fans oriented for carpet chewing

Hope you're on-hand for vocabulary assistance when I run out of colourful language!

 

[Cenedd]

Windowless case.
Mo-Ra 420 on each side.
Win.

Or this, that would balance it out a treat

Well, you say it in jest...but I did (briefly) consider whether the rad could BE the case. But we're getting into BumblBuild territory there. While the results were excellent, I fear I don't have enough sanity to make it that far!

 

[Cenedd]

Well, that's an OCUK order placed for case, 2x DDC pumps, DDC heatsinks, hardline, tools (pre-order) and fittings. OCUK have one EK 12/10 fitting for acrylic in stock....that'll be enough, right?!

Also ordered one length of the Mayhems Hardened Glass tubing to play with. Even if I can't bend it, if I can cut it, it would work for a straight section or two.

Once the case is here, I'll measure up before ordering the rad....just to make sure I'm not forced to get the smaller rad. I think it'll fit according to the quoted dimensions of case and rad.

 

[Cenedd]

No problem.
From the mating face (where it joins the DDC) to the:
Top surface: 27.5 mm
Top of bolt on top surface: 28.5 mm
Top of G1/4 blank in top port: 31.5 mm

If you're after slimline, the Aquacomputer AquaCover for DDC is lower profile at 20.5, 22 and 24.5 mm respectively. However, if you're wanting to attach a DDC heatsink as well, I believe the EK supplied bolts are too long and not threaded far enough. I had to hacksaw the ends off and then make the thread longer with an M4x0.7 die. Or at least I'm hoping that's right as I'm assembling the heatsink to the cover without a pump - I'm mocking it up to work on the loop for another build .

 

[Cenedd]

Hmm. The cross flow has been useful. Don't suppose you have the space for two 90 degree bends (or two double/triple 45s, or a 180 snake if it exists) instead?

Personally I like the clear acrylic because you can see it's working and not full of 'stuff'.

Worst case, could Parvum do something custom for you? Probably not cheap but I think they've cut them into larger sheets of acrylic for JR23 before so they probably have most of the model for them already.

 

[Cenedd]

The back-up plan is to use the 2 edge ports on the Aquacomputer top. The inlet is the top port connected to the res and the outlet port will essentially 180 around the pump. Most of this will be hidden underneath the GTX Titan, but it still feels messy.

Titan, nice. If you're going in the top and out a side, could you spin the entire pump 180? Failing that, a single hardline segment to let you get the required curve in without kinking?

This is what happens when you try to make an In Win 901 do things it wasn't intended to do!

But isn't that the point?! If we stuck to the intented uses, we'd all still have beige towers with a plastic front and a hairdryer attached to the cpu!

I've already spoken to JR23 about another part (custom EK Terminal) and sadly Parvum can only do "2.5D" milling of their acrylic, so they couldn't do me a pump top even if I asked.

Now I could be wrong here but isn't it just the bottom part that's difficult? If they can do that - the weird elliptical part that sits over the impeller. The rest is just a hole drilled and tapped for the outlet and the same for a top-mounted inlet. A side mounted inlet you'd have to have enough height to drill in from the side as far as the top inlet shaft - but you wouldn't necessarily need to drill the top shaft all the way through to the top. It's possible but the additional height required for a horizontal channel above the impeller chamber is probably why the XSPC unit is slightly taller.

I know Bitspower do a lower profile 90° bend but it's not revolvable so it would be hit and miss as to whether it points the way you want.

 

[Cenedd]

OK, a small update for you. There's good news and some bad. Everything I order arrived:



But the courier managed to damage the case. It's not massive but it's made the front foot wobbly and depending how the rad gets mounted, that could end up being structural as well as supporting the PC.
OCUK were great and a swap out is scheduled for tomorrow.

While I had the case out, it seemed criminal not to see where stuff might fit!

I instantly spotted somewhere the pump top might be made to stick out of:



It'll need checking once I can dismantle some of the case. If nothing else, to do this would require mounting the pumps on either a raised platform (so the top sticks up and clears the PSU shroud) or long screws like stilts. Another bonus is that both heatsinks DO fit on the XSPC dual top....which I wasn't certain they would. One bonus would be that a fan would be right there to blow over the DDC heatsinks....silently, of course

I've got an existing Aquaero 6 XT to mount....and no 5¼ drive bays. A quick mock up shows that where I was thinking of bodging mounting it, looks promising. Have to work out the details when I have more time....but I suspect a Dremel may be involved!



Now, the obvious question is the rad. Had a quick measure as I wasn't sure on whether the rad would fit with the recess in the side panels. It looks like it will...just. The rad is 47.5cm if mounted with the logo at the front....which seems reasonable. The case is about 97cm. It'd probably be more sensible to be really certain how I'm going to fit the Mo-Ra 420 and if necessary order the smaller Mo-Ra 360....but that's like saying a GTX 970 would be ok when a 980Ti is only £30 more So I'm going to do the mature and reasonable thing....and order the 420 and work out how to mount it afterwards!
I think it may be possible to get QDC bulkheads through the sidepanel but one will be around the PSU and the other would be in the top rad bay (which would be empty anyway). I may be able to flip it so the QDCs are at the front (and rad logo at the back, but meh!) and that would result in the connections coming through where the bottom drive bays are - conveniently right next to the proposed pump location. It may mean the rad overhanging at the back a bit though. Shouldn't be a massive issue as there's some cabling (keyboard, monitors etc) hanging around the back anyway, so what's a bit of rad joining the party matter? Worst case I'd have to take the connections out the back of the case and then across...but I'd rather avoid external tubing as much as possible.

Had a quick play with the hardline and my solitary EK fitting - OCUK only had one in stock and I only need it for testing at this point. The Mayhems 12mm glass tube fits very nicely. The E22, not so much. Will have to get a vernier caliper out to check the diameter of the acrylic is correct before I try brute force and ignorance!

Next update will probably be when the rad arrives and I post up whinging that I can't make it fit because it's too long or something

Gareth

 

[Cenedd]

Too big. I did chamfer it a little but probably not enough. I'll double check it's not a mis-pick and then try chamfering it lots. Always good to have advice from someone who's been there and done it, so cheers.

 

[Cenedd]

Thanks guys. I've had the calipers on both sets of tube and this explains it:

Mayhem glass: 11.92mm +/- 0.02mm
E22: 12.30mm +/- 0.10mm

Worth noting that the ID on the Mayhem is 7.4mm so thicker walled and narrower gauge...not that it probably makes much difference to temps at the end.

So the E22 is definitely tighter. With some heavy chamfering I have got it to go into a fitting but now it's passed the o-ring I don't think it's ever going to come out - and I mean by intention rather than accidentally. I'm also concerned about the amount of insertion force required for when I'd be connecting to things like a graphics card.
David: If you happen to be talking to E22, would you mind asking them what the nominal diameter and tolerance should be? Just wondering if it's maybe a metric/imperial thing, a bad batch or by design. Cheers.

Also, with the two of you on the EK HDCs that explains why there was a stock shortage!

 

[Cenedd]

Even with the compression ring (and its easily losable o-ring) put aside, it's difficult to get the tube in - but not impossible once chamfered. Getting it out was possible when it hadn't gone in far enough to engage the o-ring but now that I've done that it's not coming back out. I had the fitting screwed into the XSPC acrylic pump top and I stopped trying to get the tube out because I think the thread in the block was going to strip before the tube came out. Will shove the fitting in a bench vice (rubber padded jaws) and have another try...but I suspect the fact I'm needing to do that indicates something wrong. Tubes came in a sleeve marked "12 x 1 x 2050mm" so it doesn't look to be a mis-pick. Although, to be fair, both ends of the sleeve were unsealed so it could have got mixed up at some point.

Replacement case has arrived and the front is solid. Having a play with it all now.

David: thanks for that. Will drop them an email.

 

[Cenedd]

Heard back from E22. Turns out that some of a bad batch escaped their recall. They're going to replace it for me FoC. Also advised OCUK (by webnote) of my measurements in case they want to check the rest of their stock.

Next question. I've been looking at how to mount the Aquaero. Originally I was thinking of just cutting a rectangular hole and mounting it in that - probably bending the brackets out like ears and screwing through them. I found that there is a replacement black bezel (instead of stainless steel) available and so started hoping that I might be able to make rougher holes and cover them with the bezel. Problem is that it's a touch-screen Aquaero and just not going to work. However in peeling off the bezel, I came up with an idea that would look good but make life hard for myself. I'm thinking that if I leave the bezel off and use it as a template, I can cut out the exact shape of the Aquaero glass and mount the unit with the four corner screws. Trouble is, that the shape cut out will have to be EXACT or look rubbish. How do I do that? I've got a template and a Dremel but I just know that it'll end up with wobbles and nicks and look awful. I keep thinking about borrowing a milling machine but would that help? Anyone got any good ideas of how to do this? Laser cut?

You can see (click for larger image) the glass part that will need to stick through - although it will be slightly set back as the metal is, I think, slightly thicker than the stainless bezel. You can also see the four corner holes that I can use to mount it with and the existing bezel that can be a template.

 

[Cenedd]

LePhuronn: That's what I feared. Was kinda hoping someone would say "Do it like this, you'll get a far neater result AND it won't be a hard slog to do"!

OJ46: Genius or crazy...'tis a fine line and I suspect the results will determine which!

Well, I think I'm going to have to do a JR23 and start drilling out all the rivets on my shiny new case so that I can get the PSU shroud out to work on. Hopefully afterwards I can just tap the holes and screw it back in. Gotta justify the cost of my expensive (£60) tap and die kit somehow! What's the betting I don't have a tap for the thread of the nice black screws that match the case!

 

[Cenedd]

My neighbour is old-school and has a rusty tin with a mixed selection of metric and imperial. I'll see if I can strike gold Will also test out the M3.5 ...if my set has it. Thanks for that.

 

[Cenedd]

Neighbour has a good range including 5/32...but not 6/32. M3.5 seems about the right diameter and the thread seems to be 0.8 pitch but my only M3.5 is 0.6

So, taps, diamond Dremel wheel and diamond file set ordered. Wheel supposed to be good for getting a clean cut in steel and files supposed to be a better finish (and faster cutting) for refining the finish. One of them should also be useful for scoring the glass tube to snap it to length if I end up using it.

While I'm posting, E22 were very helpful. Was emailing them until gone half ten at night - that's dedication! (...or insomnia ) OCUK were also very responsive and helpful. The two are currently weeding out the problem tubes so stock should be good very soon.

 

[Cenedd]

Progress...of a sort. I'll stop derailing excellent David's build log with my whinging. Love the monoblock now David.

I've drilled out the rivets holding the PSU shroud in place. Remembered how much I hate drilling rivets once the first one started to spin. Don't think my drill bit is blunt (as has been suggested) as it's a brand new set of DeWalt Xtreme2 super-fancy ones. I think maybe the holes were slightly too big for the rivets. The holes left are all 3.5mm ....which rules out tapping a 6/32 thread into them and using the spare case screws to keep everything uniform. Looks like M4x0.7 for these then and the shortest I can find are 4mm long...which is a little overkill for two 0.7mm sheets. I've ordered some screws so next is to find out whether the metal is deep enough to take a thread

Achieved to date? I've wrecked my new case. Ah, the highs and lows of modding! Hopefully should start to improve from here!

 

[Cenedd]

There's a fair amount of updates for you but I'm going to start by going off-topic (don't we always?!). Spent Sunday finishing putting together a PC for a friend. The reason I'm posting it is because this is the result of asking OJ46 to measure clearances in the case to mount the Aquaero LT. I'd have liked the spaghetti side to be a lot cleaner but the fact that the old 1TB disk and the 120GB SSD were required to be kept (in addition to the 4TB disk and 2x512GB RAID0 M.2 SSDs) coupled with the fact that the wiring is ridiculously thick on a vintage 1000W semi-modular PSU meant that by half two in the morning, I was just grateful we could persuade the panel to close!

Please excuse the bad quality of the pics. Cameraphone and half two in the morning don't combine to make award winning photography!







Still, it looks good from the side you can see

Spec:

• Gigabyte GA-Z170 Gaming 7 EU with obstreperous dual bios
• Intel 6700K
• Geil G.Skill RAM DDR4-3600
• 980 Ti
• 2x Samsung 950 Pro 512GB in RAID0 (with VGA heatsinks attached)
• DDC 18W pump (from old PC)
• AquaComputer AquaCover pump top (the QDC is for a drain hose)
• EK DDC Heatsink (modified screws due to slimline pump top)
• AquaComputer High Flow flow sensor
• AquaComputer Aqualis XT 100ml res
• EK Supremacy HF (from old PC but with worrying signs of acrylic melting )
• EK XE 360 front rad
• Alphacool 240 UT60 X-flow top rad
• Corsair SP120 fans
• EK fittings
• Koolance 30° bends
• Tygon E3603 13/10 hose
• Aquaero 5LT and PowerAdjust3
• Zalman ZM1000-HP PSU
• Corsair Force 120GB SSD (from old PC)
• Samsung Spinpoint 1TB (from old PC)
• WD Caviar Black 4TB

 

[Cenedd]

The fans are all Aquaero controlled so although they're capable of about 2300 rpm, they're only running at about 800-1000 rpm unless they need to be - so pretty quiet. Temps are good even under gaming.

We found that with the XE360 mounted case, fans, rad, there wasn't enough space to get a 360 in the top unless it was going to be less than 30mm - and even then it was going to be tight. The tests I looked at suggested that a thick 240 performed better than a thin 360 so that's what we went for. The x-flow was for neater tube routing but it was still difficult to get a connection from top rad to front rad. Had to use a 90° bend from the bottom port and then a 30° bend.

 

[Cenedd]

Next up. The anatomy of an Aquaero 6.

I've been stripping the Aquaero in order to look at mounting it in the Enthoo Evolv ATX's PSU shroud. The front bezel is screwed on with M3x0.5 screws - same as a DVD or SSD but countersunk. You then have to prise it off a bed of glue. The fit of the raised glass through the bezel is exact and a slight scorch on the edge of the bezel suggests that Aquacomputer had the luxury of laser cutting it....something I'm not going to have.



The touch screen has an 8-pin header using 2mm pitch pins. Note that this is smaller than the 2.54mm pitch of an internal USB header or fan pins.

Next some stand-offs with a 5mm hex head and M3 thread.

Then there is a 24-pin (two rows of 12) connector from the back display to the main unit. Again, this is 2mm pitch.



In case you haven't worked it out already (and why should you), what I want to do is separate the unit into two halves. This way I can have the display and touchscreen mounted in the PSU shroud but have the main body of the unit mounted on stand-offs from the case floor. This will allow me access to plug things in without having the pump in the way. I have found a 24-pin IDC plug (thing parallel IDE cable) that looks ideal. I just have to source some compatible ribbon cable and find out whether I can make the other end male by using a set of pin headers as effectively a gender changer.
I don't suppose anybody knows of a convenient source of ready-made cable that would fit this purpose do they? Just thinking of cost-saving really....that and laziness! The pitch of the pins is closer than IDE or floppy, I checked already.

 

[Cenedd]

Guess what just got delivered!



Also got the 4x230mm fan adapter, the case mounts, a grill (which may or may not fit depending on the thickness of the fans) and some feet....just on the off-chance the case wants to tip once I load 8Kg of rad onto one side of it!

I'm working the rest of the week and then away for a stag do at the weekend so I'm not going to be able to do much until next week